Silo.



PTENTED JULY 4, 1905.

E. W. ARMENTRUUT.

ILO.

APPLIOATION FILED AUG. 1111904.

M. w l L,

. roanne.

Patented July 4t, llQUti.

inra

titties.

l'lOltATlUN Uli ltlrtlhllt.

mitm.

SPECFIGATOM forming part o' Letters Patent No. 793,976, dated J'uly 4,1905.

Application filed .August l1, 1904. Serial No. 220,367.

@lle it known that lf, 'lllUenNn lll. Anamnfruour, a citizen oit' theUnited States, rcsid ing at Apalzrchicola, county ol" lilranlilin,tritate ol. Florida, have invented an .linprovenlcnt in Silos, ol whichthe following description. in connection with the aceonlpanyingdrawings,

is a specilieatioln like letters on the drawings l representing likeparts.

,llns invention relates )articularl to silos designed for the holding olensilage, but is liO equally applicable to any tank-like structure lorholding any sort olE material in which an opening' or openings areprovided in the wall for thc admission or renuwal ol the contents. rllheinvention particulznly relates to the structure ot the opening in thewall ol' the silo or tanl; and is herein shown as applied to a round orcylindrical silo or tank, although it is equally applicable to silos ortanks ot' other crossssection than cylindrical. ln struc tures of thisclass it is highly desirable, il not essential, to provide a closure forthe opening or openings in the wall which shall be practicallyair-tight, so that the contents1 particularly in the ease ol" ensilage,will not be ilinpaired by fermentation caused troni contact with theatmosphere.

li/'arious styles ol openings have been in use; 3o but they maygenerally be divided into two classes-Erst, a series of verticallyalined sniall openings running substantially 'troni the top to thebottom oli the silo; second, one long continuous opening runningsubstantially lroni the top to the bottoni oli the silo. lin both casesthese openings are closed by a series of doors or door-like closures.llach olE these constructions has its advantages.

llhc present invention relates to that type ao wherein a series otopenings are providinh herein shown as vertically alined in accordancewith the usual custo1n,althougl1 such vertical alinernent is ot coursenot essential.

'llhe drawings represent a silo ot the cylindrieal type provided withthe improved door construction ol" this invention.

liligure lis a View in Aliront elevation ol a cylindrical silo, showinga series oil openings vertically alined and provided with thel iniproveddoor construction ol` this invention. Fig. 2 is a cross-section onthelinenfmolilfig. l through the door-jainbs and door. llig. 2l is a(ness-section on the line j/ y/ ol liig. l, showing one of the doors.llllig. -i is a view l sinlilar to .'lllig. 3 olE another Forni olE doorconstruction, and lllig. 5 is a detail showing the construction o'li thedoor.

illhe silo herein shown is built in the usual and connnon 1nanner,olEcylindrical lornl and provided with two door-jalnbs .ft .il runningvertically the length ol the silo, which doorjarnbs are kept separatedby braces ll li. wl'iich braces on their exterior surfaces pre1'- crablycontorni to the cylindrical surface ol" the silo. rlhe silo is hohltogether by hoops or bands t.) t). which vpass over the lns'rees l-l llin the usual and connnon manner. '.llhe doorjannbs A and the braces iltogether torni a series otl rectangular openings throughout the lengthol the silo1 serving for the renioval and admission ol its contents.

ller the purpose ot' the present invention, as will appear7 it isnecessary that the oppo site walls olf each opening shall be providedwith earn-surfaces, swelling' `lronl the ends toward the iniddlc, andfor this purpose use is inade of the braces lli, which already havethese cain-shapcifl surfaces by reason ol" their conformation to thecyliiulrical surlace ol. the silo. lach opening is provided with anexpansible door l). '.llhis door is iorined oli two parts, herein shownas vertically arranged, although the arrangement inight as well behorizontal. '.lhesc parts J d are litted to slide one upon the other andare separated by' a wedge lil. .fis a lneans 'tor allowing one door partto slide upon the other. one part, as is shown provided with a lin (/ifastened thereto and sliding freely in a slot d in the other part It.lhis lina1ulslot conneetirni is used at opposite ends olE the door.

lin order to prevent one door part Freni separating :troni the other,the part in which the groove al is located has a small guidciiin d" tasttherein and passing through a slot d in the lin Z2 ol sul'lieient extentto allow iter the out through the silo-opening and is of suiiicientlength to have its ends rest upon opposite walls oiI the opening', as onthe braces B B.

In Fig. I the braces B are shown as oppositely beveled at and thecorresponding edges of the door are shown as similarly beveled. In Fig.3 no such bevel is provided.

In the operation of the door the cross-bar F is turned to the positionshown in dotted lines in Fig. l, the parts of the door are broughttogether, the wedge E being retracted. The door is then placed in theopeningl from theinterior of the silo and the cross-bar F turned so thatits ends will rise up on the cam-surfaces at the opposite sides of thedooropening, as on the swelling surfaces o'tl vthe braces B. Thisoperation, proper adjustment being secured by the nut on the pivot-boltf, serves to draw the wedge E in tightly between the parts of the doorand to expand the door so that it tightly fits the walls of the opening.The bevel-shaped opposite edges 7) ot' the door-jambs above describedshould, it' used, be placed on the edges or' the door at right angleswith the wedge E. When the cross-bar F is turned to expand the door, itwill then at the same time draw the beveled edges of the door tightlyagainst the beveled edges 'of the opening and serve, il properlyadjusted, even more etectually to close the opening; but as a practicalmatter the construction shown in Fig. 3, where these bevels are notprovided, will usually be found to be sufficient. This expansible doorwill be i'ound to be simple in operation, easily placed in position, andan effectual and tight closure.

Thile I have shown and described a particular construction, thisinvention is not limited to the details so shown and described.

For convenience the term silo as descriptive ot the structure has beenused in the claims; but, as already stated, by this term is meant anyshaped silo or any similar tanklile structure the walls of which are tobe provided with openings Jfor the admission and removal of thecontents.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is-

A l. A silo having an opening, cam-surfaces on opposite sides of theexterior of said opening, a two-part expansible door ior said opening, awedge for separating the two parts of the door toexpand the same, across-bar pivoted to said wedge and adapted to have its ends ride overthe cam-surfaces of the dooropening and thus expand the door and hold itin position.

2. A silo having an opening' in its wall, an expansible door thereforcomprised of two parts slidingly connected, a wedge for separating thetwo parts, means for operating the said wedge to separate the parts,said operating means acting to hold the expanded door in po- Y sition inthe opening.

A silo having an opening in its wall provided with an opposite interiorpair ot' beveled edges, an expansible door therefor comprised of twoparts slidingly connected and provided with bevcls on opposite edges, awedge for separating the two parts, means Ytor operating the said wedgeto separate the parts, said operating' means acting to hold the expandeddoor in position in the opening.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing` witnesses.

EUGENE IV. ARMENTROUT.

IVitnesses:

J. H. Coon, M. L. PA'rroN.

